Verstappen says new floor has fixed Red Bull's entry balance

Max Verstappen says the floor Red Bull introduced at Monza has finally addressed the instability on corner entry that shaped the first half of his season.

"It is not a magic part, but I can turn in and know what the car is going to do," Verstappen said in Baku. "Before, I had to wait for the front to arrive, and by then the lap was gone."

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The team brought a revised floor edge and a new diffuser fence package to Italy, the third significant aerodynamic update of the year. Verstappen finished second there and led the first half of the Madrid Grand Prix before a slow pit stop dropped him behind Leclerc.

Still too late for the title

The improvement arrives with eight rounds left and Verstappen 68 points behind Norris, a deficit he described as "realistically finished" in Madrid. He has since softened that view without changing the arithmetic.

Team principal Laurent Mekies is more interested in what the part means for next year. "Everything we learn about this floor goes into the 2027 car," he said. "That is the value of it."